We all like to think of ourselves as being that little bit different, a bit quirky perhaps and ploughing our own furrow. In a way we are right. Each of us is unique though recognisably human. Even identical twins have something that can set them apart.
At times though we are all the same and we do things that mark us out as so. We get hungry at lunchtime, tired at night and all decide to hold meetings at the same time. This is what has happened for me with the 18th of January. For some reason this is the day that everyone has decided that we should get together to meet. So far I have had four clashing appointments and am trying to scrabble around to make things fit.
Despite everyone organising their own thing, without influence from each other, we have combined our efforts into a confluence of events.
Why the 18th then? I’ve been thinking about this a bit over Christmas (well, it was quiet) and have come to a number of conclusions. When planning in December for something in January people would have thought about coming back to work and how it would take a while to get back into things. Not everyone will be back in the first week and so it is safer to go for something in the middle of the month. It is safe as too much happens at the start and the end of a month anyway.
Also, with a lot of people working more flexibly and with shorter weeks it is safer to avoid Mondays and Fridays. It is better to plumb for something mid-week and no day comes more mid-week than Wednesday.
Looking ahead, in a thirty one day month, something in the week commencing 16th of January would seem about right, far enough away to plan ahead and convenient enough for everyone to accommodate. The 18th is bang in the middle, the sweet spot of the month. At least that was the plan. The only problem is that we all had the same one.
We could blame the fact that there is a limited choice of days available. In truth though we are humans and we tend to end up doing the same thing. We’re not as unique as we like to think.
See you on the 18th!
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 